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Table 4 Heavy metal contents (mg kg−1 dry matter) of arable crops and grassland

From: Assessing the relevance of atmospheric heavy metal deposition with regard to ecosystem integrity and human health in Germany

Plant species

N

Heavy metal content [M]ha (mg kg−1 dry matter)

Pb

Cd

Hg

Cu

Ni

Zn

As

Cr

Winter wheata

24

0.03

0.03

0.005

4.6

0.23

20

0.035

0.48

Rye

23

0.07

0.02

0.005

4.6

0.44

26

0.035

0.25

Winter barleyb

30

0.1

0.02

0.01

3.6

0.23

25

0.035

0.27

Rapeseedc

18

0.1

0.08

0.003

3.8

0.81

39

0.035

1.7

Potatoes

32

0.04

0.09

0.001

4.6

0.23

14

0.035

0.17

Sugar beet

30

0.2

0.08

0.01

3.9

0.8

12

0.035

0.47

Silage maizee

24

0.2

0.04

0.02

3.5

0.58

19

0.035

0.73

Grass and grassland plantsd

160

0.99

0.13

0.03

6.2

0.91

49.5

0.1

0.395

  1. Source: Knappe et al. [54]
  2. aThe share of the area under spring wheat is negligibly small compared to the area under winter wheat [28] and is therefore not considered in crop rotation
  3. bThe share of the area under spring barley is negligibly small compared to the area under winter barley [28] and is therefore not considered in crop rotation
  4. cThe proportion of sunflower area cultivated is negligibly small compared to the area under rape [28] and is therefore not considered in crop rotation
  5. dThe share of the area under legumes is negligibly low compared to the area under grassland [28] and is therefore not considered in crop rotation
  6. eSilage maize is defined here as energy maize, green maize and feed silage maize